During the years, the way how businesses operate has changed significantly. The digital era helps to drive enterprises into new highs, and mobility has an increasingly important role in it. Last year we introduced 5 mobility predictions that we believe companies should look at to keep moving forward. As 2020 approaches, it is time to catch up on new trends again.

Mobility, when properly implemented, significantly improves the efficiency and productivity of businesses. It allows workers to streamline communication, save time and cost, improve data accuracy, or reduce paperwork. But mobility is also a fast-evolving area where flexibility is necessary to take full advantage. So, make sure you are ready for these 5 enterprise mobility trends. They might offer an especially attractive space for further growth of your company.

In October, we hosted the resco.next conference where we’ve unveiled our Industry Watch initiative and brought Resco Inspections to smartwatches. We’ve done this to support the potential of these devices in the enterprise area. Smartwatches, with their abilities and form factor, provide a new approach in resolving workers’ challenges. They can help technicians, manufacturers, or inspectors in scenarios where utilization of larger devices would be difficult.

Smartwatches also allow workers to keep their hands free for a task but still have digital features within their reach. Voice control utilization and subtle form factor also open possibilities for mobility integration in other scenarios. Users can utilize them discreetly during mystery shopping or business meetings. What’s important, smartwatch potential in enterprise is now also supported by growing overall sales and user adoption.

According to reports from Strategy Analytics and NDP Group, the number of sold units rose by 56% worldwide last year. Adoption rate looks also very promising. Almost every fourth adult of the age of 18 to 34 own a smartwatch in the U.S. These numbers grew steadily throughout 2019 and forecasts predict continued growth in 2020 all around the world. As the abilities, sales, and user adoption of smartwatches grow, future use in enterprise area is inevitable.

Utilizing AI in workflows via subscription services

For the majority of companies, it is too costly, difficult, or ineffective to invest and develop their own AI or machine learning platform. As a result, enterprises with a niche in AI programming start to offer their solutions in subscription models to bridge the gap. It’s a win-win situation. It provides a new business stream for developers, and affordable option for other companies to harness the power of AI.

Services from companies like Microsoft, Google, IBM, and many others offer a progressive way of how to reduce time spent on tasks, improve automation, flexibility, and even lower costs. Imagine a small company that optimizes their customer support with automated responses from a smart assistant, or marketers who optimize ad changes by analyzing audience behavior with an AI tool.

Recently, Resco also enabled field workers, technicians, inspectors and others to utilize AI technology. With the Image Recognition feature integrated via Azure Custom Vision platform, they can save their time during inspections. Automated object recognition eliminates the necessity to scroll in endless product lists. As the number of available tools with artificial intelligence integration rises, the majority of companies will end up working with them soon. Therefore, next year is an ideal time to start.

5G connectivity for better access to automation

The evolution and development of 5G cellular network has begun many years ago but we’ve entered the era when the idea has turned into reality just recently. In 2019, we have seen some of the first implementations of new generation networks for commercial purposes.

Ericsson Mobility expects a much wider rollout of 5G technology in 2020 which means a broader influence on people and businesses. More 5G enabled devices will come, and companies will already consider purchasing them as more efficient for their long term strategy. If you work in manufacturing, automotive, logistics, robotics, or any other similar field, expect fast-paced change. 5G network brings an opportunity to improve automation of production, the flexibility of workers, and use of IoT sensors .

Complete transition certainly won’t happen overnight. It will take a few years, but for businesses that want to leverage the advantages of 5G, it’s crucial to keep an eye on the technology.

Developing apps without advanced programming skills

The premise that only skilled coders can develop a business app is diminishing faster than ever. Forrester reports that the low-code development tools market will steadily grow by 40% year-over-year and will reach $15 billion in 2020. As a result, more and more companies are turning to low-code or no-code dev platforms to solve their business challenges.

Low-code programming tools are a viable option for both smaller and larger enterprises. With this approach, they can source some development in a more affordable way. Low-code allows companies to advance even without hiring an army of skilled but expensive programmers, innovate more easily, and flexibly react to current trends. That’s why we’re constantly improving Woodford, where you can easily create and customize your business app solution. Regardless the industry you work in.

Augmented and Virtual Reality extending digital features into the physical world

In their report, IDC states that worldwide spending on augmented and virtual reality will rise by more than 75% in the next year compared to 2019. The overall estimation of spending is over $18.8 billion. And this number includes a key forecast for businesses. Just a little over one third of the spending will come from consumers. The rest will be accounted for by lab and field usage.

Devices like Microsoft HoloLens, Google Glass or Oculus Quest provide an exciting possibilities for professional use. And big impact will have innovative AR solutions on phones and tablets. They allow workers to merge digital tools into the physical world and consequently to focus more on actual work. All while keeping their hands free and seamlessly utilizing advanced data visualization.

Resco Roadmap 2020

As these 5 predictions indicate, another exciting year is ahead of us and the entire enterprise mobility industry. Innovative technologies constantly empower businesses and bring many new possibilities for growth.

At Resco, we want to grow with our partners and customers and provide tools that integrate with the smartest trends. Get to know state-of-the-art Field Service 2.0 technology enabling you to stay ahead of your competition and drive business growth with the help of smartwatches.